WORK to convert a Methodist church in Englefield Green into a community drop-in centre will go ahead after a £25,000 council grant was approved.

The old Victoria Street church is undergoing a £450,000 renovation to create a village centre, incorporating a café, a Sure Start children’s centre and general community meeting place.

At a meeting on September 3, Runnymede Borough Council’s corporate management committee agreed to provide £25,000 towards phase two of the project, which will see the front of the existing building renovated.

Lay pastor Linda Ashford, who is leading the project, said the Englefield Green community was in desperate need of a centre like this.

“There is no meeting place for people in Englefield Green, there’s nowhere for people to go to socialise and meet,” she said.

“We want to turn it into a drop-in centre where people can come to have a coffee and a chat.

“It can be a meeting place for parents with children and elderly people, because people like that often don’t want to just go to the pub.”

The congregation at the old Methodist church formed a new joint Church Council at St Jude's United Church in 2002, and the Victoria Street building has been in need of refurbishment since then.

Building work is already under way to create new foundations at the back of the run-down structure, and Mrs Ashford said much of the £450,000 total had already been raised to allow the plans to continue.

“We want to create an atmosphere where people feel accepted and comfortable,” she said.

“If people need support and help we can point them in the right direction.

“We would like to make this a community venue so we can have quiz nights and show films.

“It has got great potential and lots of character.”

The borough council’s contribution was granted subject to matched funding from Surrey County Council, and the drop-in centre is expected to open in September 2010.